"SPOT ON" CHOCOLATE CREME EGG ICE CREAM
Inspired by Cadbury’s Creme Egg with its combination of milk chocolate and fondant icing (and the accompanying sugar rush) this experimental recipe of mine is one decadent ice cream. And I’m happy to say, despite my worries that I might be going overboard with the sugar, this one worked out really well.
The base is an easy-going but full-bodied milk chocolate ice cream run through with swirls of yellow and white fondant icing (same stuff as Cadbury’s creme egg!). And since a part of the joy of tasting food is the “mouthfeel,” I wanted to recreate that lovely cracking sensation of biting through the chocolate egg shell. I recreated this crunchy feeling by turning this into somewhat of a stracciatella ice cream, where delicate flakes (or stripes) of solid chocolate float through the ice cream as well.
This dessert really does taste like a Cadbury Creme Egg but in ice cream form… and it’s incredibly simple to make
Enjoy!!
Ingredients:
(Makes about a half quart)
For the Milk Chocolate Ice Cream Base:
3/4 cup + 2 teaspoons Heavy Cream (200 mL)
2 tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder ( about 15 grams ) (I used partially de-oiled cocoa powder with around 20 - 22% cocoa butter from Naturata, a fairtrade company.)
3.5 ounces Chopped Milk Chocolate (50% cacao) (100 grams)
2/3 cup Whole Milk (160 mL)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons Sugar ( 80 grams)
3 Large Egg Yolks
1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Bean (optional)
Bowl of ice water
For the Cadbury Creme Egg Filling
7 oz White Fondant Icing (200 grams)
1.7 oz of Water (50 grams)
1.7 oz of Sugar (50 grams)
Yellow Food Dye
For the Chocolate Flakes:
1.7 oz of Milk or Dark Chocolate (50 grams)
Tools:
Oven & Stove
Small & Medium Sauce Pot
Skillet or Pan
Paring Knife
Peeler*
Whisk or Stirring Spoon
Soup Spoon or Tablespoon
Spatula*
Ice Cream Scoop*
*Ideal, not essential
Instructions:
1. Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice. (This will become an ice bath for cooling the custard later on.)
2. Pour the unsweetened cocoa powder and half of the cream into a pot and place over medium heat. Whisk while the cocoa powder dissolves into the cream. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low, whisking constantly for half a minute.
3. Remove from the heat and add your chopped chocolate. Give it a good stir until the mixture is smooth. Add the second half of your cream while stirring. Once smooth, float the pot in your ice bath. Keep a sieve nearby for later.
4. Set your heavy-bottom pot or double boiler over medium high heat. Add the milk, sugar, and salt. Stir until the sugar has melted and steam begins to rise from the surface.
5. Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Once it is uniform, add a tablespoon of the steaming dairy mixture while still whisking. Repeat until you have added 3 - 4 tablespoons of the dairy mixture to the yolks. Add the yolk mixture back into the rest of the dairy mixture, stirring continuously with a spatula or wooden spoon. Make sure to mix the bottom as well. The custard will be done cooking once the mixture is thick enough to glaze the back of the spoon. Run your finger across the back of the spoon. If the custard remains separated, it is done cooking.
6. Strain the custard into the floating pot of chilled chocolate cream. Add the vanilla (if using) and stir the custard until cool. (5-ish minutes)
7. Refrigerate in an airtight container for at least four hours. Letting it sit even longer, perhaps overnight, is even better.
To make the Cadbury Creme Egg Filling:
1. Mix 50 grams of sugar and 50 grams of water in a small sauce pot and heat until the sugar is dissolved, creating a simple sugar syrup.
2. Chop or grate your white fondant icing into small pieces. Divide in half and place in separate mixing bowls. Add equal amounts of the sugar syrup to both bowls and mix well until you have a fairly runny consistency and no lumps. In one bowl, add yellow food coloring until you have a yellow that resembles egg yolk. (Leave the other half of the fondant white.)
To finish the Ice Cream:
8. When you are ready to churn, follow the instructions of your ice cream maker. Pour your chilled custard into your machine (removing the vanilla bean if you used one) and let it churn until it has the texture you desire.
9. Add an uneven layer of ice cream to your pre-chilled ice cream container and drizzle thick swirls of both the yellow and white fondant icing on top. Repeat as many times as you like to get the ratio of ice cream to creme egg filling you want. Transfer the custard into a pre-chilled, air-tight container and place in the freezer to stabilize for 20 - 30 mins. Do not let it freeze solid yet.
10. Meanwhile, melt your chocolate in a double boiler over medium heat. Once melted, remove entirely from the heat and let cool until just room temperature. (It should still be fluid, but not hot.)
11. Remove the ice cream from the freezer. Using a spoon drizzle thin, wispy lines of chocolate over the top of the ice cream. Cover and place in the freezer to chill for a minute or two. Once the stripes of chocolate have hardened, pull the ice cream from the freezer and, using your fingers or a fork, press the hard chocolate deep down into the ice cream so that it breaks into thin flakes as you push it.
12. Repeat step 11 as many times as you like to get the ratio of chocolate flakes to ice cream that you desire.
13. Store in the freezer until about a half hour before you plan on serving. This thawing time give it a chance to breath. Not only will it have a more pleasant mouthfeel, the flavors will get a bit of a boost as they warm up!
This Cadbury Creme Egg Ice Cream will Last about Four Days.
Notes :
+ Restraint is key when making this recipe. Everything that goes inside is already pretty decadent, so it can be easy to go overboard. Trust me, a light hand here means that your dessert will be luxurious without making you sick after one scoop.
+ When making the swirls of fondant icing, I find it works better to let them be a bit thick. With all the moving around that happens with the next step (adding the chocolate stripes) your fondant swirls will disappear if they aren’t ample enough.
+ On the opposite end of things, when drizzling your chocolate stripes for the stracciatella, I suggest keeping them delicate and wispy. This allows the crunchy feeling of the solid chocolate to perfuse through the entire ice cream base without being distracting to the taster.
Cadbury Creme Ice Cream
Laura | Date
Prep time: 20 minutes
Chilling time: 4 hours
_Assembly time:_5 minutes
Total time: 4 hours 25 minutes
Servings: Makes about a half quart of ice cream
Level of Skill: Very Easy
Ingredients:
For the Milk Chocolate Ice Cream Base:
- 3/4 cup + 2 teaspoons Heavy Cream (200 mL)
- 2 tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder ( about 15 grams ) (I used partially de-oiled cocoa powder with around 20 - 22% cocoa butter from Naturata, a fairtrade company.)
- 3.5 ounces Chopped Milk Chocolate (50% cacao) (100 grams)
- 2/3 cup Whole Milk (160 mL)
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons Sugar ( 80 grams)
- 3 Large Egg Yolks
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Bean (optional)
- Bowl of ice water
For the Cadbury Creme Egg Filling:
- 7 oz White Fondant Icing (200 grams)
- 1.7 oz of Water (50 grams)
- 1.7 oz of Sugar (50 grams)
- Yellow Food Dye
For the Chocolate Flakes:
- 1.7 oz of Milk or Dark Chocolate (50 grams)
Instructions:
To make the ice cream base:
Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice. (This will become an ice bath for cooling the custard later on.)
Pour the unsweetened cocoa powder and half of the cream into a pot and place over medium heat. Whisk while the cocoa powder dissolves into the cream. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low, whisking constantly for half a minute.
Remove from the heat and add your chopped chocolate. Give it a good stir until the mixture is smooth. Add the second half of your cream while stirring. Once smooth, float the pot in your ice bath. Keep a sieve nearby for later.
Set your heavy-bottom pot or double boiler over medium high heat. Add the milk, sugar, and salt. Stir until the sugar has melted and steam begins to rise from the surface.
Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Once it is uniform, add a tablespoon of the steaming dairy mixture while still whisking. Repeat until you have added 3 - 4 tablespoons of the dairy mixture to the yolks. Add the yolk mixture back into the rest of the dairy mixture, stirring continuously with a spatula or wooden spoon. Make sure to mix the bottom as well. The custard will be done cooking once the mixture is thick enough to glaze the back of the spoon. Run your finger across the back of the spoon. If the custard remains separated, it is done cooking.
Strain the custard into the floating pot of chilled chocolate cream. Add the vanilla (if using) and stir the custard until cool. (5-ish minutes)
Refrigerate in an airtight container for at least four hours. Letting it sit even longer, perhaps overnight, is even better.
To make the Cadbury Creme Egg Filling:
Mix 50 grams of sugar and 50 grams of water in a small sauce pot and heat until the sugar is dissolved, creating a simple sugar syrup.
Chop or grate your white fondant icing into small pieces. Divide in half and place in separate mixing bowls. Add equal amounts of the sugar syrup to both bowls and mix well until you have a fairly runny consistency and no lumps. In one bowl, add yellow food coloring until you have a yellow that resembles egg yolk. (Leave the other half of the fondant white.)
To finish the Ice Cream:
When you are ready to churn, follow the instructions of your ice cream maker. Pour your chilled custard into your machine (removing the vanilla bean if you used one) and let it churn until it has the texture you desire.
Add an uneven layer of ice cream to your pre-chilled ice cream container and drizzle thick swirls of both the yellow and white fondant icing on top. Repeat as many times as you like to get the ratio of ice cream to creme egg filling you want. Transfer the custard into a pre-chilled, air-tight container and place in the freezer to stabilize for 20 - 30 mins. Do not let it freeze solid yet.
Meanwhile, melt your chocolate in a double boiler over medium heat. Once melted, remove entirely from the heat and let cool until just room temperature. (It should still be fluid, but not hot.)
Remove the ice cream from the freezer. Using a spoon drizzle thin, wispy lines of chocolate over the top of the ice cream. Cover and place in the freezer to chill for a minute or two. Once the stripes of chocolate have hardened, pull the ice cream from the freezer and, using your fingers or a fork, press the hard chocolate deep down into the ice cream so that it breaks into thin flakes as you push it.
Repeat step 11 as many times as you like to get the ratio of chocolate flakes to ice cream that you desire.
Store in the freezer until about a half hour before you plan on serving. This thawing time give it a chance to breath. Not only will it have a more pleasant mouthfeel, the flavors will get a bit of a boost as they warm up!
{ Since this ice cream has a rather thick base, I would suggest letting it relax in the refrigerator 30 - 45 minutes before you plan on serving it! }
Nutrition:
(per 1/2 cup serving)
Servings: Four 1/2 cup sized scoops
Fat: 13 grams
Calories: 503
Nutrition estimated by Happyforks.com